Vibratory work-feeder device



March 17, 1970 a. M. TARZIAN r 3,500,993

VIBRATORY WORK-FEEDER DEVIBE 2 Sheets-Sheet .1

Filfld Jan. 8. 1968 F'lG.l

. INVENTOR @2026! m 714F274 ATTORNEYS March 17, 1970 G. M. TARZIAN 3,500,993

'vxmmonx WORK-FEEDER DEVICE Filed Jan. 8, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 4 a:

ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,500,993 VIBRATORY WORK-FEEDER DEVICE George M. Tarzian, 1742 Rosehill Drive, Chicago, Ill. 60626 Filed Jan. 8, 1968, Ser. No. 696,407

Int. Cl. B65g 27/16 US. Cl 198-220 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Vibratory parts feeder bowl mounted on base through opposed adjustably angled and tensioned spring bars for translating vertical electromagnetic vibratory drive into spiral bowl oscillation adjustable as to spring rate, pitch angle, clockwise or counterclockwise direction, and differential feed action in selected bowl areas.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Vibratory part feeder bowls are commonly used to separate, orient and individually feed small parts for delivery to a feed tube or work station. As such, they include a bowl which is spring mounted on a supporting base and has an upwardly inclined spiral track provided on its inner periphery, an electromagnetic motor with its field coil in the base member and its armature on the bowl, and means for twisting the bowl as it is caused to vibrate so that the parts in the bowl are caused to move radially outward and climb the inclined spiral track.

The principal means for causing the bowl to twist has been through a cam or leverage action in combination with or separate from the spring mounting provided for the bowl. Sloping leaf springs and radially offset and interconnected torsion bars have been used to provide the necessary leverage action, in combination with the resilient support, while oppositely chamfered field coil pole faces, with a complementary armature have been employed in the cam actuated arrangements.

Prior sloping leaf spring mountings have had limitations in lacking adjustment of spring rate, pitch angle, direction of feed. They are also subject to fatigue changes, and are difiicult if not impossible to tune for synchronous movement or variational control as regards work part movement in different areas of the hopper or feeder bowl.

A cam actuated rotary movement is unsatisfactory in requiring separate spring mounts, with the same limitations as regards changing the spring rates, tuning, etc., and in precluding changes in the rotational direction and pitch angle permitted the work part feeder bowl.

Certain prior torsional spring systems, using interconnecting links, provide adjustment in the spring rates of individual mounts and afford a means of reversing the rotational direction of part movement by reversing the angular disposition of the connecting links. However, the spring rate variations permitted are not easily obtained and are principally for tuning the mounts to like vibrational frequencies. There is still no means for varying pitch angle to more expediently handle parts of different size, weight, etc., or for permitting variational control of part movement in different sections of the hopper or feeder bowl as is often necessary for smoothing out work part flow.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to work part feeder systems including vibrational means for effecting work part move ment, and more particularly to a means and method for controlling vibrational movement of work feed hopper bowl or the like.

In the embodiment of this invention shown by the accompanying drawings, and hereinafter described in greater detail, a work part hopper or feeder bowl is mounted on a supporting base by torsion bar springs which are axially tensionable for varying their respective spring rates, and are formed for rotatable positioning about their own axes to vary individual and collective pitch angles that control the twisting movement of the bowl member and the movement of work parts disposed therein. The torsional spring elements translate vibratory energy into spiral oscillation having variable axial and circumferential components of movement of the work part retaining bowl, without cam or leverage means as previously known, and are capable of adjustment for collectively varying both the spring rate and pitch angle of the bowl as necessary to best accommodate parts of different relative size and weights. They may also be separately adjusted for either or both spring rate and pitch angle to obtain a greater or lesser axial and circumferential displacement of the work parts within different sections of the hopper or feeder bowl.

These and other objects will be better understood and more fully appreciated in the detailed description which follows a brief reference to the accompanying drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the vibratory work feeder device of this invention,

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of the vibratory device of the first drawing figure with the hopper or feeder bowl removed,

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of the torsional spring elements and hopper bowl supporting member shown removed from the base support structure,

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged cross sectional view of the vibratory device of this invention as shown in the plane of line 44 in the first drawing figure, and

FIGURE 5 is a top plan view of the base structure of the vibratory feed device of the present invention as seen in the plane of line 55 in the last mentioned drawing figure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The vibratory feed device .10, shown in the drawings, includes a base support 12, in which is provided an electromagnetic motor 14, and has a hopper or feeder bowl 16 mounted thereon which includes an upwardly inclined spiral track 18 on its inner side wall.

The base support 12 is best shown in FIGURES 4 and 5 to include a casting which is generally square in shape and has side walls 20 framing the center opening 22 in which the electromagnetic motor is provided. It has an inturned flange 24 at the bottom, along at least two opposite sides, on which is mounted the cross support 26 for the electromagnetic motor which is, in turn, vertically adjustable and locked in position by threaded fastener means 28 and 30. The base support is also provided with rubber feet or pads 32 at the corners which serve to damp the vibrational reaction incident to operation of the electromagnetic motor.

The hopper or feeder bowl 16, as shown by FIGURE 4, has a bottom wall 34 which is relatively flat and sets over the base support with some overhang. The bowl member itself is mounted by a center fastener 36 to a holder member 38 which is circular in shape and is disposed concentrically within the center opening 22 in the base support to hold the bottom of the bowl in relatively spaced relation over the base member.

The circular shaped holder member 38 has its sidewall drilled and tapped for threaded engagement with torsion parts in a bar spring element 40 which extends radially and in alike horizontal plane outwardly for engagement with the corners of the base support member 12 and the base support is provided with through holes 42 at its corners receive the outer ends of the spring elements, which are threaded, as at 44, for engagement with retaining nuts 46 which have shoulder engagement with surfaces 48 provided for such purpose at the upper corners of the base support.

The spring elements 40 are blade-like in shape between their ends, as at 50, and are rotatably positionable about their longitudinal axes, by slots 52 in their outer ends in order to vary the angular inclination of their blade for purposes later described.

The electromagnetic motor 14 in the base support 12 has its field coil 54 mounted on the cross support 26 in the base and an armature plate 56 provided on the under side of the holder member 38, as best shown in FIGURE 4. The gap between the field coil and the armature plate is set at .015 to .035 and the power to the motor is a 60-cycle, half-way rectification for the vibrational movement of the hopper bowl most beneficial for work part movement therewithin.

The torsional spring elements may include two, three, four (as shown), or more in number depending on the Work being handled, and in particular the work flow movement desired. The number of spring elements, their dimensional size, blade shape and thickness, relative disposition, relative inclination, and the axial tensioning thereof determine the spring rate and extent of Work piece movement which may be obtained.

Considering the embodiment under discussion, each of the four spring elements 40 is axially tensionable by tightening the retaining nuts 46 to vary individual spring rates. They may also be turned about their longitudinal axes to vary the inclination of their blade form.

In use, all of the spring elements are inclined in relatively like directions with respect to the axial centerline through the hopper bowl and consequently they are oppositely inclined on diametrically opposite sides thereof. This causes them to twist and to make the holder move axially and to turn circumferentially in accord with the torsional restraint which they impose. As inclined slightly from the vertical, the spring elements will translate the vibratory movement of the hopper bowl into a relatively greater circumferential than axial movement and a inclined slightly from the horizontal the flight movement is more vertical than circumferential.

With all of the spring elements adjusted so that they are inclined in a like clockwise or counterclockwise direction, depending on the direction of the work flow movement desired, and under a like axial tension, they will produce an axial and circumferential oscillatory movement of the feeder bowl, under the influence of the vibratory motor, which has a pitch angle depending upon the inclination of the blade-like torsional spring elements. Work parts which are relatively light in weight will generally require a greater inclination of the blade form from the vertical to provide a relatively higher flight path then will members which are heavier and develop an adequate drive with a lower flight path.

Should it be desirable to vary the responsive movement of the feeder bowl at a particular location in the bowl, as for example at the base of the spiral track, it is possible to rotationally position the bowl relative to certain spring elements and to vary the torsional reaction of such spring elements to that a lesser or greater extent of axial or circumferential movement is obtained at such location varying for example from a slower to a faster feed action to provide increased separation near the entrance to the spiral track.

From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that a relatively simple and expedient means of providing for vibrational work flow movement is obtained in the use of torsional spring elements connecting a work holder to a base support wherein the cross sectional shape of the spring elements, between their ends, is blade-like in form or otherwise has a different cross sectional dimension in transverse planes through its axis, and where the torsional spring elements are so mounted that they may be axially tensioned and rotatably positioned about their own axes for obtaining variable spring rates and pitch angles.

The torsional spring elements of this invention are less subject to fatigue than leaf springs, are more easily tensionable to vary their spring rate or tune, as desired, and they are readily adjustable to provide a clockwise or counterclockwise movement of work parts, in accord With the turn of the spiral track in the hopper bowl used. They are also simple in construction, easy to assemble or replace, and provide a relatively simple, sturdy and compact device for a broad range of work pieces of different specific Weights and sizes of feed of which may be readily accommodate and optimized by simple adjustments in the course of preliminary trials at the work handling site.

I claim:

1. In a vibratory drive system for work part feeders comprising a base support having a work part holder provided thereon, a plurality of spring means connecting the holder to the base support, and electromagnetic means for causing vibratory movement of the holder relative to the base support, the improvement, characterized by;

said spring means translating the vibratory movement of said holder for oscillatory axial and circumferential displacement being adjustable to vary the spring rate and a pitch angle response and means for applying a tension force to said spring means along its longitudinal axis to provide an adjustment of said spring rate.

2. The improvement of claim 1,

said spring means including torsion bars radially disposed between and directly connected at opposite ends to said holder and base support.

3. The improvement of claim 2,

said torsion bars having a cross sectional shape between the ends thereof providing a spring rate and pitch angle response varying with the rotational positioning of said bars about their longitudinal axes.

4. The improvement of claim 3,

wherein four equally spaced torsion bars are provided in opposed paired relation and rotationally positioned for like circumferential displacement of said holder in the course of vibratory movement.

5. The improvement of claim 3,

said torsion bars being individually tensionable and rotatably positionable for variational control of the relative movement of work parts in diiferent areas of said holder.

6. A vibratory drive system for work part feeders, and

comprising:

a base support having a member disposed in concentric spaced relation thereto and for receiving and supporting a work part holder thereon,

torsional spring elements connecting said member to said base support and disposed in coplanar radial relation therebetween,

an electromagnetic motor having the field coil thereof in said base, the armature provided on said member and adapted for cyclic operation causing vibratory movement of said member relative to said base pp and said spring elements having a cross sectional shape between the ends thereof and being adjustably positioned about their longitudinal axes for translating vibratory movement of said member into oscillatory axial and circumferential displacement thereof varying with the relative rotational positioning of said spring elements.

7. The vibratory drive system of claim 6, References Cited said spring elements being axially tensionable for vary- UNITED STATES PATENTS mg the spring rates thereof. I

8. The vibratory drive system of claim 6, 2,321,292 1/1958 P saids rin elements bein individuall tensionable, axiall; th reof, for vary ing the spring rate afiorded 0 GERALD FORLENZA Pnmary Exammer in the axial and circumferential displacement of said G, F, ABRAHAM, A i t t E i r member.

9. The vibratory drive system of claim 6, U.S. Cl. X.R.

said spring elements being individually adjustable and 10 259-2 tensionable for collectively varying the spring rate and pitch angle imposed on said member. 

